Regional Budget (11/24/07) and weekend

Friday

Nov 23, 2007 at 12:01 AMNov 23, 2007 at 11:20 PM

Jonie Larson, Regional Editor

GateHouse News Service Regional Budget (11/24/07) and weekend
Here are the top Illinois stories coming today from GateHouse News Service. Stories are available at www.gatehousenewsservice.com
*Please check this Web site in the evening for changes to story lineup, including breaking news.
Contacts:
Regional Editor Jonie Larson, (217) 816-3343, jlarson@gatehousemedia.com
National Editor Jean Hodges, (630) 348-3350, jhodges@gatehousemedia.com

Note to editors: Due to the holiday, some of the stories on today’s budget will have been posted earlier in the week, pushing them down in the Web window, requiring you to scan down farther than normal when searching for them.

News

TOYS FOR THE SEASON: SCHAUMBURG – Gassy Gus has a rather obvious problem with his digestion, but at least he’s not covered in toxic substances, manufacturers of the new gross-out game say. Indianapolis-based Fundex Games recently unveiled the new product -- in which the belly of a junk-food junkie expands with gas until the inevitable happens - at the Chicago Toy and Game Fair. This year’s recalls of potentially hazardous Chinese-made toys were a topic of discussion at the Schaumburg event. RAMSEY/CHICAGO/FOR PUBLICATION SUNDAY AND AFTER/posted.

REMEMBER TO OBSERVE THE DRIVING LAW: The trooper returned to his patrol car to check the man's license and write a ticket for violating Scott's Law, now referred to as the "move-over law." BOLINSKI/SPRINGFIELD/posted/llinois.

FREEDOM FREE IN DECEMBER: CHICAGO – The upscale retailers along North Michigan Avenue may want an arm and a leg for their merchandise, but at least freedom is free – through December, anyway. Visitors can find a respite from the holiday crush at the McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum, a multi-media exploration of the First Amendment that is located at the base of the Chicago Tribune tower. Directors have waived the nominal $5 admission fee through the rest of the year. RAMSEY/CHICAGO/Illinois and Illinois New, Travel and Day Trips./posted.

CAPITOL NOTEBOOK – Five things from the week at the capitol. CAPITOL BUREAU

LOW ON WATER: As the state of Georgia and other parts of the southeastern United States grapple with a historic drought, portions of Illinois also face dry conditions. The water level in Lake Springfield, for instance, was about 2.3 feet below average for this time of year, as of early November. Should residents be worried? COLINDRES/CAPITOL BUREAU/posting today but publication for Saturday and after./Illinois

AGING WEAPONS: At a time when Rockford’s police union and its commanders disagree about virtually everything, one issue has brought them together. The department’s aging handguns, both sides agree, are badly worn and need to be replaced. ROCKFORD/Illinois News/posted.

XMAS DECOR: (For publication Saturday and after.) This year, you don't want to just throw everything you have on the Christmas tree. Experts talk about what's hot in holiday decor and give tips on how to create or follow a theme. WEBSTER/Rockford 400 words/moving by Friday morning.

TASER CAM: (w/info-graphic) The Peoria Police Department has requested in its budget for 2008 nearly $100,000 to buy "Taser Cams" to protect officers against false allegations and hold citizens accountable for their actions. We'll detail how the cameras work and why they would be beneficial to the department. The budget has not yet been approved by the council, so it's anyone's guess whether police will get them. (12 inches; by 4 p.m.) FARK/PEORIA/Illinois News

RETAIL REVELRY: (w/pix of busy shopping site). The traditionally biggest shopping day of the season finds retailers hoping for good
results at this time of consumer hesitancy. We'll check with store managers on how the day is going, and what they expect this holiday
season (15-16 inches by 5 p.m.) TARTER/PEORIA/Illinois News

STATE BRIEFS: A collection of briefs from GateHouse newspapers across the state. Posted by 6 p.m./Illinois and Illinois News.

PLEASE DO NOT PUBLISH THE FOLLOWING PRIOR TO THE DATES INDICATED:

FOR SUNDAY:
NEW HOME DEALS: If you have the means and the money, now may be the best time this
decade to buy a newly built home. At least three local builders are offering deals
either on finished units or on ones to be built in 2008. GARY/Rockford 600 words/Friday evening. For publication Sunday and after.
w/art of Patty Leighty of Buckley Homes at a Stonehaven unit
w/graphic of new home sales '07 vs. '06

HEALTH PLAN: Gov. Rod Blagojevich plans to push in the spring legislative session for the part of his original health-care plan in which the state would work with private insurance companies to provide a pool of comprehensive yet affordable health
insurance for individuals and small businesses. If the governor is successful, this would put in place most of his Illinois Covered plan, because he says he will institute the rest of the plan - including a Medicaid expansion for low-income, childless adults and health-insurance subsidies -- by executive order by July 1, 2008. But the kicker is that to provide ongoing funding for all of this, he will
push for a General Assembly-supported tax on businesses that don't offer health insurance. W/photo of a low-income Springfield woman who would benefit from one part of the plan. HEUPEL/OLSEN/SPRINGFIELD AND CAPITOL BUREAU/posting this evening, Illinois/Sunday release

TAX CASE: Shelby County tax evader and his lawyer from Nokomis are the objects of serious scorn from the U.S. Appellate Court in Chicago and its most acid justice, Richard Posner. DETTRO/SPRINGFIELD

BERNARD SCHOENBURG COL.: A few weeks back, when the Blagojevich administration was trying to put on a full court press to publicize the need for a large-scale state construction program, Kristin Richards, a deputy chief of staff to the
governor, was among officials who visited the editorial board of The State Journal-Register. It's not very flattering to myself, perhaps, to say that I had never heard of Richards. But it may also reflect the fact that the inner offices where Gov. ROD BLAGOJEVICH's staff works at the Statehouse - even his press staff - are generally locked to the public. So I asked gubernatorial spokeswoman Rebecca Rausch later about how I had missed someone high in the administration, especially someone who lives and works in Springfield. Rausch graciously offered to get me information about several deputy chiefs of staff - two of whom live in Springfield and four in the Chicago area. I also got some details, including salaries, from the comptroller's office. COLUMN/SPRINGFIELD/OPINION/posting this evening.

FOR MONDAY:
VIETSKUL: Spectrum School aims to help Rockford and Vietnamese students learn "from" each other, not just "about" each other, in a partnersnhip with a school in Ho Chi Minh City. Spectrum teachers have traveled there, and the schools are planning joint learning projects and more. NIKOLAI/Rockford 500 words w/art. For publication Monday and after.

TASERS: info grafic on how they work. ANTONACCI/SPRINGFIELD/Illinois News/posting this season. For publication Monday and after.
-- klutzo folo efforting more on how he was treated in the jail. ANTONACCI/Illinois/posting this season for Monday publication.
News Poll: Do you support the use of Tasers by law enforcement officers?

BIODIESEL: With the price of gas hovering around $3 a gallon, the aroma of burnt doughnuts coming from the tailpipe of Jason Miles' Volkswagon Jetta smells especially sweet. That's because Miles, a student in the Environmental Biology department at Illinois College in Jacksonville, has been making his own bio-diesel fuel from waste cooking oil for less than $1 per gallon. Young w/photo/C.Young/SPRINGFIELD/Illinois News/posting this season for Monday publication.

Sports

Check the Web site for sports stories that might develop. Check below for sports stuff moving on Sunday.

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